In the accounting profession, the post-COVID business model is surely on everyone's minds. Unmistakably, the way to forge ahead will look different than in years past. The biggest mistake that a majority of companies are making in regard to growth is holding onto old conventions, paradigms, and practices. Whether re-integrating back to in-office life or staying digitally connected through remote work, the first step in determining how to spur growth comes with reevaluating your company's willingness to change mindset. Join David Bergstein, Chief Innovation Officer at Bergstein CPA, as he shares insight on the accounting landscape, new trends, and practical tips for reevaluating your company's positionality. This session will cover: • What it means to challenge tradition and change your company mindset • How to make sure you are set up to be as productive and efficient as possible • Best practices for choosing the tools you will utilize • Methods to measure and track your success so you can watch yourself improve! ...and more! Everyone who attends will walk away with the knowledge of what to do to be successful in the "New Normal."

8. Client Accounting Services: The Definitive Success Guide

9. According to surveys, two service areas generating interest are:
• Client accounting advisory services (CAS)
• Cybersecurity
• Well over 50% of firms in virtually all size categories are
providing some form of these services.
National MAP Survey
2018 Executive Summary

12. The Future of Work

13. • “Working from Home”
• Remote Work

14. The Future of Work

15. The Future of Work

16. Ways to Reimagine the Way We Work
in the Digital Age
By Sofia Simeonidou

17. Rather than redesign work, the Deloitte survey suggests executives already
started shifting their focus toward reimagining work. The survey found
businesses employ these five tactics to bring out human strengths:
• Prioritize workers’ wellbeing and integrate it into the design of work.
That means, for example, ensuring work is safe and keeps workers
healthy, but also taking steps to make remote working sustainable.
• Capitalize on worker agency and choice to drive learning, adaptability,
and impact. That can be done, for example, by aligning workers’
passions with organizational needs.
Reimagination Over
Redesign

18. • Create diverse teams that use technology to enhance work.
• Develop forward-looking insights using real-time data to harness
workforce potential. The real-time data includes workers’ safety
concerns, flexibility desires, and their individual effectiveness in a
remote environment.
• Shift the role of HR to finding new ways of working rather than
standardizing and enforcing policies. This will require HR to learn from
and partner with workers to identify opportunities and craft new
approaches.
Reimagination Over
Redesign

19. • Let’s say you have an experienced, hard-working accountant, handling
15 clients per month, with fees per client averaging $600/mo. This
generates $9,000/mo. in fees for the firm, or $108,000/yr.
• The base salary for that person is $50,000/yr. and costs the firm
about $62,000/yr. when you factor in employment taxes and benefits.
That leaves $45,000 for the firm. Not bad, but not scalable. There is a
cap on the volume of work that your firm can handle without hiring
additional staff.
Reimagination Over
Redesign

20. • Without technology to boost the accountant’s productivity, the firm
can’t take on new clients. But when the bulk of data entry and
transaction processing is automated, the accountant can go from
working with 15 clients per month to 50 clients per month,
generating $360,000 in fees for the firm per year.
• This level of productivity makes client accounting services profitable.
Reimagination Over
Redesign

23. Level 5 Advisory Services

25. 7 Tips for Starting a Client Advisory Services Practice

26. It’s All About Automation:
From Repetitive Tasks to Deep Intelligence

27. The Future of
Accounting
Firms

28. • PwC Reorganizes into two business segments:
• Combining Assurance and Tax Reporting practices into a new Trust
Solutions segment
• Setting up a Consulting Solutions segment that will encompass
services such as business transformation, cybersecurity, tax
consulting, business deals, cloud, digital, privacy and risk.
PwC Reorganizes
U.S. Firm Structure

29. • EisnerAmper Restructures After Private Equity Investment
• EisnerAmper LLP, a Top 20 Firm based in New York is separating the non-attest side
into an entity called Eisner Advisory Group LLC.
• EisnerAmper LLP, as a licensed CPA firm, will continue to provide attest services, while
Eisner Advisory Group LLC will offer business advisory and non-attest services.

30. Organization Information

32. Accounting Industry Statistics
Firms with CAS
sourced: CPA Trendlines Research Oct 2019
9 in 10 firms offering CAS today say it's "important to the firm's future."
8 in 10 firms report CAS "provides superior revenue growth."
6 in 10 say CAS deliver above-par profit margins.
5 in 10 report CAS boosts "staff morale."
9 in 10 cite improvements in "client satisfaction."
8 in 10 are "attracting new clients" with CAS.
8 in 10 confirm CAS "creates new opportunities" for the firm.

33. CLIENT ACCOUNTING
ADVISORY (CAS) SERVICES
CAS practices are
growing more than
2X the median
CPA firm growth rate
Source: AICPA and CPA.com, CAS Benchmark Survey2018

34. Shift Your Practice!
Sourced: Intuit: Firm of the Future, 2017

37. The Future is about Advisory
Services
• Advisory services include value-
added services our clients don't
have time to do, don't want to
do, or can't do for themselves.
• As our client's accountant, we
have the capacity to provide
tailored advice and opinions.
37

38. Do you offer Advisory
Services?
Do you charge for
Advisory Services?
38

39. 5 types of accounting
advisory services offerings
• Financial Accounting
Advisory
• Process Advisory
• Apps Advisory
• Compliance/Forensic
• Successor Advisory
39

40. Financial Accounting Advisory
40
• It’s all about the firm
being more Liquid,
Solvent & Profitable
• Cash Management
• Cash Flow Forecasting

41. 1.What are your short-term and long-term goals for the business?
2.Describe what your business looks like one year, three years, and five years from today?
3.What key metrics are you currently using to make your primary business decisions?
4.What kind of capital will you need to fund your growth plans?
5.Who is your target customer?
6.How much does it cost to produce one unit, or serve one customer, for your business?
7.What does your exit strategy look like?
It is All About the Process

42. Cash Management / Cash Flow Forecasting

43. Forecasting & Budgeting
• Jirav.com
• DryRun.com
• FloatApp.com
• CashFlowTool.com
• PlanGuru
• LivePlan
• Forecasting
• Forecasting 1

44. Process Advisory
• It’s all about being more
efficient
• What does your client do
• What tasks and steps are
involved
• What’s the workflow
• How does the supply chain work
• Operational stability
• Scalability

45. Apps Advisory
App Advisory is all about improving workflow by leveraging
technology and cultivating growth in systems that were previously
marginal.
What are the wants needs and functions of various apps?
• Stack rank them
• Can they be connected
• Apps Advisory Plus
• AppsMaven

46. Succession Planning
Advisory Services
• It’s all about planning for
the future and growth of
the business.
• When does it start?

47. • Compliance advisory is the practice of providing guidance to your
clients to keep them protected from fraud, and on the right side of
the law
• Internal Controls Safeguards Cybersecurity
• Forensic accounting is the use of a specific set of skills and processes
to analyze financial information to uncover information that can be
used in legal proceeding
Compliance Forensic
Advisory Services

48. What’s in Your
Wallet?
48

49. Cloud Accounting Providers

50. • Tech Stack: Combination of
integrated applications that
provide reliable financial
information and business
insight
Building CAAS “Tech Stack”
Bill
Payment
TimeSheets
Payroll
Expense
Management
Cash Flow
Dashboards
Fetch-It
Artificial
Intelligence
Accounting Software
Bill Pay
Client Interaction
Cloud Storage
Expense Management
Internal
Communication
Meeting Scheduling
Productivity Tools
Recruiting
Security
Task Management
Time Tracking
Workflow Automation
Audit
Audit Research
Audit Software
Production
Accounting Software
Bill Pay
Dashboarding
Expense Management
Forecasting
Time Tracking
Tax
Tax Software
CRM
Sales &
Marketing
Social Media
Website
CORE:
Accounting
Software

52. Resources
marketplacehttps://marketplace.intacct.com/
https://www.xero.com/us/marketplace/s/app-functions
NetSuite
https://apps.intuit.com/

53. Artificial
Intelligence
Apps

54. Automation and A.I. are the Future

55. Objective
55 I
LAUNCH
a comprehensive cloud
platform with a goal of
“Never Enter Data”and
integrated workflows

56. Objective
56 I
PARTNER
with third-party
providers,financial
institutions and
mega platforms
LAUNCH
a comprehensive cloud
platform with a goal of
“Never Enter Data” and
integrated workflows

57. Objective
Utilize
data and AI to provide
insights that allow
accountantsto advise
yourclients
PARTNER
with third-party
providers,financial
institutions and
mega platforms
LAUNCH
a comprehensive cloud
platform with a goal of
“Never Enter Data”and
integrated workflows

58. BOTs

59. 59
4) Changing
Expectations

60. Are Bots The Future?

61. A.I. / Machine Learning

62. It’s All About Automation
• work more accurately
• gain productivity:
• boost compliance:
• cut costs:
• gain an edge:
https://www.delaware.pro/en-be/solutions/robo-accounting

63. The Democratizing artificial intelligence is a
double-edged sword

64. https://blog.aicpa.org/2013/01/the-defining-dozen-12-metrics-cpa-firms-should-
track.html#sthash.zR1dHehd.dpbs
https://karbonhq.com/resources/5-revenue-kpis-every-firm-must-track/
https://www.accountingweb.com/practice/practice-excellence/how-do-value-based-firms-
measure-success
The Defining Dozen:
12 Metrics CPA Firms Should
Track

65. 1. Revenue per full-time equivalent (FTE). The firm’s total net revenue earned
divided by the number of its FTEs. This metric shows how much revenue
each team member generates and provides information on the firm’s
efficiency.
2. Revenue by service line. Firms may offer a wide variety of professional and
financial services, with advisory services adding to their more traditional
services. This metric shows which services are the fastest growing as your
firm extends its services beyond tax and assurance.
Metrics to Track in a
Value-Pricing Firm

66. Metrics to Track in a
Value-Pricing Firm
3. Ratio of staff to equity partner. Calculated by dividing the number of a firm’s
employees by the number of its equity partners. This metric shows how
successful partners are at pushing work down.
4. Average number of services per client. The closer your firm is entwined with a
client, the more attuned to your needs you will be and the better able you are
to address their needs. Improving this metric can increase retention rates
exponentially.

67. 5. Lifetime value of a client. This is essentially the sum of all revenues generated from the firm’s
service offerings over the lifetime of the client. It’s a good idea to track how this metric changes
from year to year for your biggest clients, how long those clients have been with the firm, and
whether new service offerings have been introduced to those clients.
6. Net promoter score (NPS). This is a client satisfaction benchmark that measures how likely your
clients are to recommend you to others. You determine your NPS by surveying your existing
clients to ask, “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our firm to others?” and
ask clients to give specific feedback about why they gave the score they did. Clients who answer
the question with a 9-10 are Promotors. Clients who answer with a 7-8 are Passives, and clients
who respond with 0-6 are Detractors. Calculate your NPS by subtracting the percentage of
Detractors from the percentage of Promotors. Use the feedback your clients give to identify areas
of improvement.
Metrics to Track in a
Value-Pricing Firm

68. 7. Income per equity partner (IPP). Calculated by dividing the firm’s net operating
income by the number of equity partners. According to the most recent
Rosenberg Survey, average IPP in 2017 was $441,000, up 2.6 percent from the
previous year.
8. Income generated by employee. Firms need to know how much revenue each
person in the firm is generating to set salaries and assign work. This metric isn’t
perfect, especially when staff members work in teams. However, if you can
assign a certain percentage of revenue to each individual, it’s a good starting
point for figuring out how to balance work in the firm.
Metrics to Track in a
Value-Pricing Firm

69. Metrics to Track in a
Value-Pricing Firm
9. Work turnover. This measures how many days it takes to complete a job,
from when all information is in until the client receives the deliverable.
Clients value speed and efficiency, so it’s essential for the firm to know how
quickly jobs are being completed to keep clients satisfied.

71. Visit my blog www.AppsMaven.com
LinkedIn: www.LinkedIn.com/DavidBergstein
Twitter: @DavidBergstein

73. Appendix

74. 6 Megatrends in 2021
And How to Put Yourself in a Position for
Success

75. Megatrend 1: Continued
Embrace of Automation

76. How to Prepare:
Accounting Robots On-
Demand
• One of our most popular webcasts
in 2020, Accounting Robots: How
to Automate the Finance Back
Office explored the evolution of AI
and RPA technology in the
accounting space, identifying
applications and use cases for
accounting and corporate finance.

77. Megatrend 2: The
Normalization of Remote
Work

78. Planning for the Next
Shift in Remote Work
• Whether you’re moving to hybrid or
expanding your hiring initiative, the
new world of remote work is here. Get
to know more about making the most
out of it here:
• Should Corporate Finance Switch to
Long-Term Remote Work?
• Planning for a Virtual Onboarding
Landscape
• Five Tips for a Safe Return to Work

79. Megatrend 3: Keen Eye for
ESG

80. Get to Know More:
ESG Resources
• Over the past few months, we’ve spent
a lot of time talking about the
importance of ESG and the ways to
embrace change in your reporting. Get
to know more about making this work
for you be reading the resources
below.
• Bringing Data into ESG Reporting
Initiatives
• How Corporate Finance Can Plan for
Increased and Continued ESG
Pressure
• New ESG Guidelines to Consolidate
Standards and Reduce Confusion

81. Megatrend 4:
Finance’s Newfound
Accountability for
Enterprise Risk
Management

82. New Challenges in
Enterprise Risk
Management
• Along with ESG issues,
accountants will also be dealing
more with enterprise risk
management as they cope with
challenges like the impact of
COVID-19 and other disasters
on their organizations.

83. Megatrend 5: Increasing
Demands for Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion

84. Get to Know the
Black C-Suite
• The Black C-Suite: Challenges
and Opportunities featured the
stories of three black executives
who shared their experiences in
their journey to the C-Suite
while including a panel to
discuss ideas and solutions for
improving representation.

85. Megatrend 6: The Upskilling
Necessity

86. Your Path to
Learning
• Since our introduction, we have been
highlighting the opportunities and need for
skills development and talent diversification.
Get to know more in our following resources:
• Expanding Your Skills: Why Virtual Learning
is Vital
• Key Skills for the Accounting Department:
Decisiveness
• Seven Steps to Evolving Your Company CPE
Plan
• The CPE Challenge: Affording Your
Continued Education and Focusing on What
Matters
• Different Approaches to the Future of
Accountancy

87. •Source:
https://controllerscouncil.org/six-
megatrends-in-2021-and-how-to-put-
yourself-in-a-position-for-success/

89. The Defining Dozen:
12 Metrics CPA Firms Should
Track
1. Lifetime Value of a Client. This is essentially the sum of all revenues generated
from the CPA firm’s service offerings over the lifetime of the client. Certainly,
most CPA firms want to know this metric and how it changes from year to year
for the biggest clients. It’s good to review how long these “A” clients have
been with the firm and to monitor whether new service offerings have been
introduced to those clients.
2. Cost of Client Acquisition. The AICPA estimates it costs 11 times more to bring
in a new client than to keep an existing one, so studying this metric is a good
reminder of those differences. Knowing this metric can also help your CPA firm
evaluate how effective its efforts are to reach the target audience.

90. The Defining Dozen:
12 Metrics CPA Firms Should
Track
3. Client Retention Rate. Each CPA firm can’t be everything to every client or potential
client, so it’s important to know which service offerings are most successful. Where is
the firm keeping clients, and what patterns can help refine the approach to client
services? Evaluating the retention rate for clients at 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year intervals
can provide insight into how to keep the relationship on solid ground.
4. Average number of services per client. Compare this alongside retention rates. As your
CPA firm is more closely entwined with a client, it will be more attuned to their needs
and can address a greater spectrum of the clients’ needs. That can increase the
retention rate exponentially.

91. The Defining Dozen:
12 Metrics CPA Firms Should
Track
5. Average number of top-client “touches” per month. Knowing this helps your CPA firm
ensure its most important clients are constantly being contacted and that there are
many avenues for identifying those clients’ needs. Looking at this metric by partner
and by industry can be used to improve internal communication so that partners
excelling in certain industries can teach others.
6. Average client response time. If I were to ask a staff member, manager or partner in
your CPA firm how quickly the firm strives to return calls, I should receive a consistent
answer. That is the first step in developing a firm that is truly responsive to client
needs.

92. The Defining Dozen:
12 Metrics CPA Firms Should
Track
7. Number of cross-selling opportunities vs. those won. A huge discrepancy between these two
numbers can identify a need to develop training so staff can identify where client needs can
be better served. Looking at this metric for various partners or industry practices can identify
who at your CPA firm is really successful at cross-selling, fostering a team-oriented approach.
8. RFP win percentage, other proposal win percentage and pipeline win percentage (or pipeline
conversion). As your CPA firm looks to bring in new clients, what venues have been the most
successful? If RFP win percentage is low, what can you do to make your CPA firms’ messaging
more effective with the target audience? These metrics also help your firm refine messaging
and offerings related to specific services. No CPA firm can be everything to everyone.

93. The Defining Dozen:
12 Metrics CPA Firms Should
Track
9. Average number of professional development hours per CPA firm member (monthly and
annually). When a prospective client meets with an accounting firm, they assume the technical skill set
is there. It is the soft-skills training and development that CPA firm members have received that will set
the firm apart, will make client relationships more meaningful and will help with opportunity
development. When senior employees leave, they often express it’s because they don’t have the
resources or guidance to grow their career. Where we see CPA firms having more success retaining
their most important asset (people), is where CPA firms place more value and emphasis on the cultural
development of its people.
10. Utilization rate and realization rate (by service offering). These are highly quantitative measures, but
they are important to track as they provide information on how profitable the firm’s services are. They
also can be used to help refine offerings.

94. The Defining Dozen:
12 Metrics CPA Firms Should
Track
11. Staff-to-partner ratio. Partners should be most focused on whatever their core competencies
are, but that means having the proper team in place for support. What that proper ratio is
depends on the size of the firm. The Chicago-based consulting company, The Rosenberg
Associates, recommends a range from 2.5-to-1 ratio for CPA firms with revenue below $2
million, to a 7.9–to-1 ratio for CPA firms with revenues over $20 million.
12. Revenue growth per year (actual vs. expected). This should be examined by service
offering/line, by partner and by industry, and ideally, the actuals would be at or higher than
the expected/budgeted. If not, your CPA firm can evaluate why -- which members may be
falling short and how your firm can better equip those teams and individuals to hit goals. This
is also an opportunity to evaluate whether targets are meaningful or whether goals should be
adjusted.